Quote in the Commercial Appeal

Byrd’s announcement will come as a surprise to many people, said Lang Wiseman, chairman of the Shelby County Republican Party.

“I think the inside-baseball people suspected that he wasn’t going to run, but I think the general public just assumed that he was in,” he said.

He said he hopes strong Republican candidates will run, and predicted that this year’s elections will be marked by tension between opposing trends: growing demographic strength for Democrats in Shelby County, vs. disappointment with Democrats at the national level.